Last weekend Louisville, Kentucky hosted the eleventh annual Forecastle Festival on the banks of the Ohio River. Over 75,000 fans, four stages, 65 musical acts and one festival evacuation made for an exciting weekend. With live music comes the element of surprise and it was plentiful this year. Unfortunate cancellations were made by acts Animal Collective, Dan Deacon, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings due to illness and the threat of powerful thunderstorms shifted the schedules during two day of the event.

Fore·cas·tle (f’ok_sol) n. ~ A superstructure at the bow of a ship where the crew is housed. Hard at work in the unruly sea, it is a place workers gather to unwind after a hard day of labor. Simply put, it is a place where people come together.

The daily band lineup for the second annual Kanrocksas Music & Arts Festival has been announced.

Lee Fields & The Expressions, Joe Pug, Bindlestick Family Circus, Los Hacheros, Flying Clouds Of South Carolina, You Black Kettle, Hex Net, Rattletrap Stringband, Leah Nairn join the lineup for the 2013 Nelsonville Music Festival!!!Stuart’s Opera House presents the 9th Annual Nelsonville Music Festival, May 30-June 2, 2013 at Robbins Crossing on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio.

MerleFest, offering the feel of both music festival and family reunion, drew nearly 76,000 fans to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina during April 25-28, 2013.  Beginning in 1988 as a tribute to the life of Merle Watson, this year’s event also served as a celebration of the lives of Merle’s parents, “Doc” and Rosa Lee, who passed away in 2012.

The Church Of Sunday Morning Festivities at MerleFest welcomes new and returning members.  While the Church only meets once a year, this single sermon will keep your mind and heart full of love for your neighbors.

Spring is right around the corner and for many excited festival attendees the anticipation is building for the annual Summer Camp Music Festival, held at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, Illinois. Since 2001, Summer Camp has consistently brought some of the largest acts in jam, electronic, bluegrass, hip-hop, and many other genres, and this year is no exception.

The heartland’s newest major music festival--KANROCKSAS--returns this spring with Kendrick Lamar, Tiësto and The Avett Brothers leading the charge as the first confirmed acts.

Let me get the lede out of the way right at the top: Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and The Avett Brothers are two of the hardest-working, hardest-rocking live bands you can see at any venue, any time.

All good things must come to an end. Right? So they say. And Sunday, July 22^nd was the last of the four-day 17^th Annual Gathering of the Vibes Festival held in Bridgeport’s lovely Seaside Park off of the Long Island Sound. The festival this year was peaceful, safe, and rowdy at the right times. All of the vendors, food and merchandise were a pleasure to meet and deal with.